Why do you need SSD cloning freeware?
We all know that compared to traditional HDDs you get an excellent user experience when running Windows or gaming on solid-state drives (SSDs). Reinstalling Windows on your new SSD can be a time-consuming process full of frustration as you have to search the internet for all the programs you had originally and reinstall them one by one.
Dec 03, 2019 Generally, it is recommended to clone the hard drive of your Mac in case you decide to upgrade the hard drive with a solid state drive (SSD), replace an old or corrupted drive with a new one or if you are going to create a bootable hard drive. In most cases, all these demands can be achieved with the help of cloning. Therefore you can clone GNU/Linux, MS windows, Intel-based Mac OS, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Minix, VMWare ESX and Chrome OS/Chromium OS, no matter it's 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x86-64) OS. For these file systems, only used blocks in partition are saved and restored by Partclone.
Specialist disk cloning software can save you time by copying everything from the old drive to the new one. This includes all of the system files, preferences, programs, and everything in-between. Typically, you will need SSD cloning software in the following two situations:
● Specialist HDD to SSD cloning software. In order to take advantage of a new SSD and enjoy the speed it can offer you, you may clone a large HDD to a smaller SSD with the cloning software.
● Specialist SSD to SSD cloning software. Your old SSD now has no more space to store new files, so you buy a new larger one. In this case, you may clone SSD to a larger SSD to transfer all your data.
● Specialist SSD to SSD cloning software. Your old SSD now has no more space to store new files, so you buy a new larger one. In this case, you may clone SSD to a larger SSD to transfer all your data.
No matter if you want to migrate your HDD to an SSD or transfer an old SSD to a new one, you will always prefer to save time by using a quick and easy method that ensures your new SSD functions correctly. AOMEI Backupper is specialist disk cloning software that can meet all your demands. It is easy-to-use and keeps your data intact during the cloning process, thus saving you time and effort compared to reinstalling the system and all your applications.
Best free SSD cloning software - AOMEI Backupper Standard
AOMEI Backupper Standard Edition, developed for Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP, is the best SSD cloning software for free that is perfect for transferring data from one disk to another. It has many professional functions:
- Disk Clone: it allows you to clone the entire hard drive. You can easily migrate HDDs to smaller SSDs or clone SSDs to larger ones.
- Partition Clone: it enables you to copy a selected partition, such as clone NTFS drive.
- SSD Alignment: it can help to improve the performance of the destination SSD and prolong its lifespan.
You will also be attracted by its following features:
- Easy-to-use interface: you can easily complete the cloning job with AOMEI Backupper’s straightforward GUI.
- VSS technology: the cloning process will run in the background so you can continue to use the computer during the process.
- Secure boot: if you are cloning the system drive, you can boot from the cloned SSD successfully after cloning.
What’s more, for non-system disks, if your source disk and destination disk have different partition structures, you can still use free AOMEI Backupper to clone the disks without having to convert the disk partition structure beforehand as it allows you to copy MBR disks to GPT disks (and vice versa).
How to clone a hard drive to an SSD with free SSD cloning software?
You need but a few clicks to clone a hard drive to an SSD with AOMEI Backupper. First, make sure your new SSD has correctly connected to the computer. AOMEI Backupper supports most of the popular brands of solid-state drives, including Samsung, Sandisk, Kingston, PNY, WD, etc. Then, follow the instructions below:
1. Download the specialist disk cloning freeware and install it.
Download Freeware
Win 10/8.1/8/7/XP
Secure Download
2. Click on the ‘Clone’ button and select ‘Disk Clone’ in the next window.
Tips:
- If you want to clone a dynamic disk, you should then choose the Partition Clone option.
- If you are cloning the system disk to another disk with different partition style (copy MBR to GPT disk or GPT to MBR disk), you need to upgrade to the paid versions.
3. Select the original hard drive as the source disk and then choose the SSD as the destination disk.
Note: The destination disk will be formatted during the cloning process. If you have any important data on this disk, you should back it up.
4. Check the ‘SSD Alignment’ option to optimize the performance of the destination SSD. Then, click on ‘Start Clone’ to begin HDD to SSD cloning.
Tips:
- Check Sector by sector clone if you want to clone every sector on the old hard drive to your SSD.
- If you are upgrading your SSD to a larger one, you should click ‘Edit Partitions’ and ‘Add unused space to all partitions’ to avoid the larger drive having unallocated space after the cloning process. This advanced feature is only available on the paid versions, such as, AOMEI Backupper Professional, AOMEI Backupper Server, etc.
- If you only want to transfer the OS and applications to the SSD rather than the entire drive, you can upgrade to its advanced editions to enjoy the 'System Clone' feature.
5. Now leave the process to complete. While you are waiting you can continue to use the PC as normal. Once the process completes, click ‘Finish’.
![Free Free](/uploads/1/2/6/4/126454097/184782420.jpg)
How to boot from the cloned SSD drive?
Cloning is not the ultimate goal. To boot from the cloned disk, you still need to change boot order in BIOS, or replace the old drive with SSD directly.
◉ To change boot priority, restart your PC and press 'F2' key (or 'Del', 'F12') to enter BIOS. At the 'Boot' tab, select the SSD drive as the first boot device. Finally, press 'F10' to save changes and exit.
◉ To replace the old hard drive with SSD directly, shut down your PC and remove all external devices and connections first. Then, open the case cover, take out the old hard drive and install the new SSD in the same place. You'll need screwdrivers in the practical operations. It is suggested to take a picture in advance to help you revert cable connections if you're not familiar with such things.
Conclusion
If you are looking for the best free SSD cloning software for Windows 10/8/7, AOMEI Backupper Standard Edition can be an ideal choice. It enables you to easily transfer data to your SSD and it acts as a comprehensive backup manager as well.
AOMEI Backupper provides the ability to perform system backups, disk backups, partition backups, and file backups. Its amazing restoration features allow you to recover your unbootable PC either by creating rescue media or by using the AOMEI PXE boot tool.
Cloning Your Data to a New Hard Drive in macOS
Our primary recommendation for transferring files from an old Mac OS X or macOS drive is performing a clean install of OS X (10.11.6 and under) or macOS (10.12.0 and higher) and migrate your data using Migration Assistant. For instructions please click here. Cloning is a viable option if installing a fresh copy of the OS and migrating your data is not an option.
Cloning is a destructive process that will erase the recipient drive, leaving the source drive intact.
The instructions below are for cloning from the original drive externally to a new drive inside a computer. In certain circumstances connecting the original drive externally is not an option. In those cases using an external hard drive as an intermediate is recommended. This process would consist of cloning the original drive while still inside the computer to a separate external hard drive, then installing the new drive and cloning the external hard drive to that new drive.
Cloning is a destructive process that will erase the recipient drive, leaving the source drive intact.
The instructions below are for cloning from the original drive externally to a new drive inside a computer. In certain circumstances connecting the original drive externally is not an option. In those cases using an external hard drive as an intermediate is recommended. This process would consist of cloning the original drive while still inside the computer to a separate external hard drive, then installing the new drive and cloning the external hard drive to that new drive.
Booting into the recovery partition or OS install media
After you install the new hard drive, you will need to boot to the recovery partition on the original drive if OS 10.7 or later is installed. If OS 10.6.8 or earlier is installed, you can use the original OS install discs that came with the computer. Power on the Mac while holding down the 'Option' key. This will display a boot menu that looks like the picture below. Click the drive icon that says 'Recovery' (OS 10.7 and later) or 'Mac OS X install' (OS 10.6.8 and earlier).
The number of drives listed will depend on the number of
bootable drives in your system.
bootable drives in your system.
Format your new drive
Once booted into the Recovery partition or installer disc, select your desired language. Next, open Disk Utility by navigating to the Utilities menu in the upper-left corner of the screen, then select Disk Utility from the drop down menu. Once in Disk Utility our detailed instructions for the formatting process can be followed: www.macsales.com/tech_center/formatting.cfm
Apple's Disk Utility (10.3.x to 10.12)
WARNING: When using the restore process, the files on the destination volume will be erased! Before you restore a volume, be sure to copy any files on the destination volume that you want to save, to a different storage device or cloud account. - Select the new volume (indented icon) and click on the 'Restore' tab.
- Drag the old volume to the Source field.
- Drag the new hard drive to the 'Destination' field.
- Click the check box for 'Erasing destination.'
- Click 'Restore' at the bottom to begin the process of copying your data to the destination.
You can also restore one volume from another volume. When you restore from one volume to another volume, it makes an exact copy of the original. For example, you can restore from your startup volume to an external volume to use as a backup.
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- Select the new drive volume in the sidebar then click the Restore button or choose Edit > Restore. This is the volume that is erased and becomes the exact copy.
- Click the 'Restore from' drop down menu, then choose the volume you want to clone the data from.
- Click Restore. Once the data has been cloned, Disk Utility indicators will show the status as being 'complete'. Click the 'Done' button.